Euro RSCG Worldwide Predicts Top Trends for 2012

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Euro RSCG Worldwide launches its largest-ever trend tome, discussing what to expect in 2012. "The Big Little Book of Nexts: Trendspotting for 2012" features trend sightings for the new year in areas ranging from advertising and parenting to home furnishings, men, lifestage marketing, and politics. 

Marian Salzman, CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, and one of the world's leading trendspotters, curates this annual exercise that's intended to flag shifts in attitudes, beliefs, values, and media preferences, as well as the broader geopolitical shifts that together are rewriting the landscape for brands, business, and newsmaking.

"We're in the business of generating awareness for our clients—to promote good will, consumption, and, ultimately, loyalty—and the best way to serve them most effectively is by anticipating the density and velocity of the changes on the near horizon," Salzman explains. "When a multinational brand gets ahead of a trend and can own it, and ride its wave, the benefits are long-lasting—recognizing, of course, that one of the trends in recent years is the speed of change, as well as the fickleness of leading-edge consumers who embrace what's new one day and move on to another new the next."

Here's a sneak peek at 12 trends for 2012 from Euro RSCG Worldwide's new report on what's next, now:

1. The U.S. State of Mind. We will see big business leaders speak out against the way things are going and pave the way for the future, as our confidence in politicians and their ilk falters amid the constant partisan fight-club atmosphere. Politics will reach a boiling point with more protests, most likely organized and cross-promoted on social media.
2. The Prime Crisis/Education Correlation. Studies have tied home equity gains to dramatic increases in college attendance, meaning today's reduced housing prices and sinking home equity will finally affect the college roster. As a result, panicked universities will go to greater lengths to attract students, offering outside-the-classroom options in the form of online classes. Out-of-work boomers will join the new student body, as they supplement their skill sets by going back to school, albeit digitally.
3. Re-feathering the Empty Nest. More empty nests are full once again as recent college grads, the biggest casualty of the dire job market, look for Mom and Dad to come to the rescue. Likewise, senior citizens reluctant to retreat to a rocking chair at the senior center will choose instead to move in with their grown children.
4. The Always-Ticking Millennial. Generation Y (which we call millennials) will upend the traditional workday, as the digital generation works anywhere, anytime. Look for 2012 to be the beginning of an era in which notions of time are divided differently, especially when we all know work nowadays is a 24/7/365 proposition. All hands on deck, but at different times.
5. Transportation in Tip-Top Shape. During the Great Depression, Americans broke their backs building roads and train tracks. With all this talk about our collapsing infrastructure, look for champions of improvement to step forward and propose a way to get America working again, among fears of the rapid deterioration of our highways, bridges and tunnels.
6. Hyperlocal vs. Universal. Although there's certainly something to the hyperlocal movement, clever brands will transcend geography and home in on universal truths when looking to market to the (global) masses; especially as we try to swallow the collective lump in our throats, it makes sense to speak to all of us, as one world.
7. Be Private, Be Present. Experiencing full-blown information overload, many will rediscover their need for privacy. We will still expect our leaders and businesses to be transparent, but in our personal lives look for a retreat en masse from TMI. Also speaking to our overtaxed lives is the "in the moment" movement, which for many people will be the only way to stomach the harsh realities of life in 2012.
8. iWars. With Steve Jobs gone, Apple will be looking over its iShoulder. From new music-sharing superstar Spotify, which has partnered with Facebook, to Amazon, whose new tablet, the Kindle Fire, has set the tablet wars raging, competitors are gunning for one of the most valuable brands on the planet.
9. Double-Dip Frugality. Look for 2012 to be the year of essentials only. As numerous institutions heralded the end of the recession, wallets opened, but some people now regret buying unnecessary items. Pop-up stores will continue to soothe by offering one-off items without the sticker shock, and with the success of Missoni at Target and a new zigzag zeitgeist, other brands will look to partner up and co-produce products and lines that give a one-two punch in what is shaping up to be a tepid holiday season.
10. The Focused Foodie. Organic and artisanal foods will dominate the dinner plate as GMO madness seizes conversations at tables from Tallahassee to Topeka. This relates to the economy, too, as we continue to shop local to support our communities. Likewise, our obsession with farmers markets and farm-to-table will endure.
11. Semi-Scientific Voodoo Medicine. Instead of the communicable diseases of yesteryear, people will grapple with excess weight and its related ailments, as well as cancers and cardiovascular, autoimmune and degenerative diseases. As the Internet provides access to medical information, the effect across markets is a fragmented mix of semi-scientific voodoo, full of contradictory and complementary elements—folk remedies (e.g., gargling with salt water) and alternative beliefs (e.g., homeopathy) alongside pharmaceuticals and supplements. Look for wellness to be the buzzword du jour.
12. Retreat from Reality. With reality TV falling out of favor and viewers looking for new ways to escape, you'll find TV fans embracing the next generation of scripted shows. Standouts include "Modern Family," "The Middle," "Up All Night," and Zooey Deschanel's "New Girl." Next year welcomes a full-on push for TV on the Internet. YouTube will launch scheduled programming in 2012, with shows on everything from fashion to sports, while Google TV will debut as well, surely redefining the realm of the couch potato.

To review and download the full report, please go to www.eurorscg.com.

For more information and some of Salzman's past annual forecasts, please go to the Brainfood tab at www.eurorscgpr.com.

About Euro RSCG Worldwide

Euro RSCG Worldwide is a leading integrated marketing communications agency and was the first agency to be named Global Agency of the Year by both Advertising Age and Campaign in the same year. Euro RSCG is made up of 233 offices in 75 countries and provides advertising, marketing, corporate communications, and digital and social media solutions to clients including Air France, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Danone Group, IBM, Kraft Foods, Lacoste, L'Oreal, Merck, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Reckitt Benckiser, Sanofi and Volvo. Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications (Euronext: HAV.PA) (Paris: HAV.PA).

About Euro RSCG Worldwide PR

We call ourselves @erwwpr; we're the North American earned-media and buzz boutique (#bethenews) within French holding company Havas. Headquartered in New York City, with Pittsburgh and Chicago offices, we've seen 25 percent growth in the last two years and become one of the most-awarded PR agencies of our size for work including #wyclefforpresident (global scope), @theywinulose (Campaign Money Watch; against big money in elections), the first-ever teenage girl SoMe lab (The Sisterhood; industry innovation) and Ford's Warriors in Pink (#welovecause). We're grounded in media, strategy, client service and community to ensure we message in straight talk and real time. For more information: www.eurorscgpr.com.

Contact:
Lisa Gruber
Global Communications Manager
Euro RSCG Worldwide
212-886-2018
[email protected]

SOURCE Euro RSCG Worldwide